Monthly Archives: December 2011

Conrad was born in Tiefenbach, Prussia, a small village in Hesse in 1828. I know the location of his birthplace because on his naturalization papers he states he was from Tiefenbach. But then comes every genealogist’s nightmare, I do not have documentation for the rest of his family tree. I do know that what I have feels right.

About 11 years ago, the Adam family in Kendall County was contacted by Gerhard Adam from Braunfels, Germany. He came to Boerne with his wife, Regina, and shared a copy of the Adam family tree which his father had researched and compiled. Tiefenbach is about 5 miles from Braunfels and yes, Braunfels is the sister city of New Braunfels, Texas.

Conrad and Carl Adam’s parents were Wilhelm Christian and Wilhelmine Klotz Adam. Wilhelm was born on 3 June 1807 in Tiefenbach and married Wilhelmine Klotz on 2 March 1828 in Tiefenbach. She was born 12 August 1809 and died 2 July 1833 of consumption. I am guessing that since his brother Carl, who was born in November 1832, was an infant and Conrad was 5 that it was important to get married right away, so on 22 December 1833 Wilhelm married Anna Elisabeth Muller in Tiefenbach. They had three sons, Frederick, John, and Henry. This goes along with information Bertha Adam Froebel Haby stated in her letter to her son, Guenther in 1927. She says, “ The one thing I can tell you my father was from a very good family, but he lost his mother when he was very young and then went to stay and live with an uncle who owned a large farm and he had to work very hard as a young man. His father married again soon after his mother’s death. From this marriage there are two sons, Henry and John Adam, both whom later moved to America.” Wilhelm died on 27 January 1848. Conrad was 19 years old.

It appears Conrad’s birthday was a day for celebrations. His two oldest daughters, Kathinka and Theresa, were married on his birthday. Kathinka married Paul Toepperwein on 30 December 1874 and Therese married Frederick Voges on 30 December 1878.

I have included a picture that “I think” is Conrad. The original is not in very good shape and I will post the complete picture at another time. It is a family picture of the Toepperweins with a few Adam family members sprinkled in. Paul and Kathinka Toepperwein are in the picture. Anyway, if this is Conrad it gives me a whole different view of him. He looks rather dapper!